Protestant or Puritan? (II, AL)
What is in a name? The community of English Reformers known as "Puritans," some of whom emigrated to New England, were part of the larger Reformation group called "Protestants." The connotations of the two terms are quite different. We will begin by assessing their quest for reform by reading the New Testament, Calvin, and Milton. We will then explore "Puritanism" in America. We will study writings by John Winthrop, Edward Taylor, and Jonathan Edwards, as well as the image of American Puritanism in literature by Hawthorne, Arthur Miller, and Robert Lowell. We will conclude by considering the transformation of "Puritan" ideas in the social thought of Reinhold Niebuhr. 3 hrs. lect./disc.